From ground staff at Gatwick to head of Titan Travel, via A&K and Kuoni, Willis proves that hard work does pay off. Rebekah Commane reports
If ever there was an example of hard work paying off, Titan Travel’s newest managing director is it.
Having left school without any A-levels, Jackie Willis went to work as ground staff at Gatwick for Transamerica at 18.
She knew from early on she had a passion for the industry and, 34 years on, that enthusiasm has not dimmed. Before long Willis secured a sales consultant position at Kuoni, where she would stay for 12 years, making her way up the ladder to senior sales manager.
Now she is helping to take Titan Travel from strength to strength, with sales up 30% this year and bookings for 2015 already up by 12%.
Talking about her career, Willis said: “I learnt so much during my years at Kuoni and had amazing mentors, including Sue Biggs [former managing director] who taught me that each member of staff at any level should be made to feel a part of all decisions and to have an interest in the success of the company.
“They were the golden years and Kuoni was a great place to learn skills that have continued to stand me in good stead throughout my career.”
Make agents believe
In 2005, Willis became operations director at Abercrombie & Kent. Going from large operator Kuoni to the much smaller company was a shock, but she drew on what she had learnt from her mentors and applied it to the new role.
“I was practical in my approach,” she said.
“I realise that sales in travel is not brain surgery; people want to go on holiday so
it shouldn’t be a
hard sell.
“If a company needs to make cuts, training should be the last thing to go as that is central to success in the industry.
“I’m totally of the mindset that if you make people believe they can do something they will do it, so I made the agents feel that they could walk on water. I don’t believe in the titles ‘call centre’ or ‘contact centre’, it’s a sales division.”
Build a niche
In the same year, 2005, that she began at A&K, Willis’s daughter was involved in a car accident and Willis decided she needed to be closer to home. She secured the role of operations director at Titan Travel, based closer to her Surrey home, and joined that year.
Willis could see how Titan’s unique selling points were successful, but could also sense where improvements were needed.
In 2009 the founders of the company decided to bow out and Titan Travel was bought by Acromas Holdings, owner of Saga.
“The family had built up a unique VIP departures service that was a credit to them,” said Willis. “The sales team were doing really well, but they had no idea how well. Some of them were taking in £4 million but didn’t know it.
“It was clear that better analysis of statistics and revenue was needed, so we worked on that. I was invited on to the board in the first year, so I knew I was doing something right!”
Willis added: “We decided to build on Titan’s niche; the average age of the customer was 65 but it had never really sold itself as such.”
In May this year, Willis was appointed Titan managing director by Saga Travel chief executive Andrew Strong.
Taking the knowledge she had honed over the years, Willis said she sought to inspire the sales team to become ‘magic makers’ for Titan clients, an ethos she carried into the office environment by hanging images of the destinations served by the operator on the walls.
“When we walk into the office and see these beautiful locations we are selling it reminds us all what we’re here for. We’re selling dreams and I want each of my team to create just that.
“Each of our tours is different and our tour managers all offer something unique; they may know a cafe that’s off the beaten track or somewhere to hear authentic music – it’s those little touches that our clients remember and brings them back.”
Earn trade’s trust
When working with the trade, Willis realises that trust is key, and earned rather than readily given.
“One of the reasons we work so well with agents is because we’re honest. There was once some wariness from the trade to give us their clients’ addresses for the VIP door-to-door service in case we would contact them directly, but we proved our trustworthiness. We will never contact a trade client direct, unless they contact us first.”
Things are looking good for Titan next year, with a no-frills brand set to launch in January. Traveller by Titan will offer a more affordable product without a VIP service, designed to attract more mainstream clients.
When asked for advice for those starting out in travel, Willis said: “Nothing is unattainable.
“You don’t need a qualification, just a good mentor, passion, drive and determination. Be open. Learn something new every day and have fun.”